Q&A with Rob Huff

Rob Huff, who won the FIA World Touring Car Championship title in 2012, has played a key role in LADA’s emergence as a force in the WTCC, claiming the make’s maiden podium before going on to capture its first two standout wins in 2014. The 35-year-old Briton will be at the wheel of the lead LADA Sport Rosneft Vesta TC1 when the WTCC resumes at the Moscow Raceway next weekend.

What does it mean to be racing for LADA in its home round of the WTCC?

“This year is going to be very special. The first time I was at the Moscow Raceway was two years ago with a German privateer team. Last year it was our first home race as LADA but LADA has grown hugely in the WTCC in the last 12 months. There is much more presence from LADA and a huge presence from new sponsor Rosneft. Last year we knew we were in a difficult place with the car so it was very low-key. This year we’re all guns blazing. And quite fortunately for us we’ve had a few weeks since Germany to prepare the cars and put in place some of the development.”

How strong will the local support be?

“Russians are hugely patriotic especially about their own car brand in LADA and their own oil company in Rosneft. There’s no doubt when we went to Russia before Christmas having won in Beijing and Macau we got a very warm welcome and it was just possibly one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever done. It was something very special and I’ve no doubt we’ll go back to more rapturous and huge support from the Russian fans.”

How would you describe LADA’s season so far?

“We went to Argentina with only two cars because we didn’t have time to build three due to the early start to the season. We went to the first race very unprepared in terms of testing and development and understanding of the car. Yet we went out and were P1 in Q1 and not many people have done that. That showed huge promise but unfortunately we had some problems. To a certain extent that’s how our season has been so far. When the car is running it’s running very fast and very strongly. Unfortunately it’s had a few mechanical problems and failures, which are easy things to fix but these things take time because we’ve had to homologate a few parts. The main bulk of testing we’ve had this year has been at the races and in the practice sessions, which is not easy at all. But we’d sooner have it like this than last year when we had a slow and reliable car. We’d much rather have a car that can throw up a few big surprises and be very fast.”

What needs to be done to improve the reliability?

“There’s always an element of luck needed for sure and any world champion will tell you that. You can have the best car and the best team but you need that little bit of luck as well. For sure we have been a bit unlucky this year but ultimately we’re in a position where we’ve got nothing to lose. And when opportunities arise we’re going for it. That’s how we’ve been told to drive in the races. We understand the car has a few soft spots and they are things we’re trying to sort at the moment.”

You’ve had some bad luck in the races this season – how frustrating has that been?

“Very but at the end of the day there are two ways of looking at the situation and I’ve been racing touring cars long enough to know. I have been unlucky and I have been wiped out by other people’s mistakes but then I could have always given those people who are always going to make mistakes more room. In Germany we got tangled up in someone else’s incident in the first race. In race two I hung back and got rewarded. We’ve seen a lot of hits this year. I’ve always gone down the single-seater thinking that you can’t touch each other otherwise you’re going to break your car.”

What about the Moscow Raceway – are you a fan?

“It’s a fantastic track. The first year we went there it was a very low-grip circuit, which made things very interesting and difficult. There is a huge array of different types of corners and there’s no doubt we probably had the best touring car race ever in 2013 when I was involved in a five abreast battle down the start/finish straight. That back straight followed by a 90-left onto the start/finish straight is a fantastic part of the track to be racing on and it creates some great opportunities. It’s definitely a track where you can overtake, you can slipstream and definitely take advantage of other people’s mistakes. It’s slippery and not used a huge amount and because of that it takes a lot of time to rub in. During the early stages of the weekend you can take advantage of that.”

Jaap van Lagen joined to LADA Sport Rosneft for WTCC Race of Germany. What does he bring to the team?

“It was good to welcome Jaap van Lagen into the team for the Nürburgring races. I’ve known him for many years even though we’ve not worked together before but new drivers always bring something fresh to the table. It always takes a few races and a few rounds and you don’t want him going into it like a bull in china shop saying ‘do this, do that’. But it will be interesting to get his feedback over the next races in terms of which direction he thinks we should be going in. And it’s a bonus that he speaks English as well!”